Party of the Iraq Soldier

by paradox

It’s always been a widely accepted fact that the military enlisted and officer corps is overwhelmingly Republican—30 years of assiduous Republican nationalism, bellicosity, expanding “defense” budgets and deliberate glorification of soldiers created an overwhelming Republican majority in the approximately 3 million active members of the armed forces.

Republican leadership, of course, has always had less-than-stellar military experience but it never stopped them from demanding more money and fighting for the forces, so of course they were slavishly supported by the military.

Emphasis on the word were. Unfortunately active duty members cannot voice their displeasure least they be instantly prosecuted, so the Army and Marine services are quiet as our soldiers are killed for nothing in a hopeless cause of failure. Word has still seeped out at the rage boiling in the ranks, though, so much that even Bob Schieffer (long-time corporate kiss-ass, his brother owned the Rangers with Bush) asked Murtha about it today.

Of course those who paid little attention to politics or were nominally Democrat in the services will be extremely upset now, but what of the formerly rabid Republican? Do they still sneer at liberals as weaklings as the world hates us for a starting a war for nothing?

Probably. Approval ratings for Bush have bottomed out steady in the 35% range for 120 days, the die-hards will always obdurately be Republican.

I am extremely interested in knowing what the General Officer Corps of the Army and Marines thinks—are they still gung ho, do they still think Republicans are God’s gift to America?

“We need this war,” I watched a Marine General tell Dan Rather just before Iraq became the greatest American foreign policy debacle of all time. A lot of liberals fantasize about how the Executive can be reformed with Congressional oversight, but who will oversee reform of our General Officer Corps?

They swore up and down for thirty years they would never be stuck in a war they couldn’t win and weren’t given the tools to do so. They swore on the souls of their grandchildren they would never sacrifice their men for a piece of ground only to give it up and them kill more men to get back yet again. They proclaimed with total certainty they would never pay a political and social price again for being proponents of lying killing evil.

Yeah, well, what the fuck happened, General Officer Corps? With Vietnam in your living experience would y’all like to explain just how in the hell you professionally cheered all this on yet again?

Democrats are party of the Iraq soldier, yes, but what of them, the Generals? So far there is nothing, nothing but silence and the death of our troops for nothing, day after day in a march of obsequious failure.